The Dish

If you’re not following @rosalierouge go change that ASAP! Not only does Kelsey post tons of great recipe ideas, but she blogs about amazing beauty products and fashion items, too. She’s also a big fan of Dress It Up Dressing, and we fell in love with her Crispy Chicken Ranch Salad recipe (copied for you below)!

This spinach salad is SUPER easy to make, especially once you have the chicken and chickpeas prepped. You can heat it up throughout the week, or eat it cold, and regardless, it tastes amazing with the dressing. I like to add in some couscous to add in some healthy and filling carbs. This salad would also be amazing with tomatoes, but sadly I was out.

This recipe is brought to us by Naciye Emren, AKA @plantlovinturk! Naciye has an amazing vegan foodie Instagram that we highly suggest you all go and follow! Not only does she post some of our favorite vegan recipes, but all of her pictures are also STUNNING! We are thrilled to welcome Naciye as a new Dress It Up Dressing fan and cannot wait to see what else she creates!

Right about now tomatoes are flooding farmers’ markets, and just like that, they’ll be gone in a few weeks. That’s just the way it goes as summer fades into fall. Canning is one way to extend the season, but that takes a bit of time not everyone has available. Another way, and one that can take your salad to the next level, is to slow roast them.

Slow roasting takes some time, but it’s all hands off. Pop them in the oven while your doing another project around the house, and you’ll be rewarded for weeks, and months to come. Stored in the fridge, with a thick layer of olive oil, these Slow Roasted Tomatoes will last for up to 2 months. That is, if you can resist eating them all at once.

It’s so easy to get spoiled during the summer, as produce is plentiful, and needs little help from us to shine. This salad is a perfect example. Ripe, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and vibrant fresh-picked mint from the garden come together for a simple, but incredibly satisfying no-cook side dish.

As we often say when talking about Dress It Up Dressing, ingredients this good shouldn’t be disguised—dressing should enhance them, highlighting their innate deliciousness. All this trio of cucumbers, tomatoes, and mint needs is a bit of our Red Wine Vinaigrette, a grating of fresh lemon zest, and some salt to make your taste buds go “whoa”. That was my reaction when I first made. I truly wasn’t expecting such a humble salad to stop me in my tracks, and yet it did. Even with all my decades spent in the kitchen (I started young!), there are still plenty of surprises yet to be discovered.

Caprese salad, a classic Italian combination of fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil seems like a no brainer salad, right? That’s true, mostly, especially this time of year when farmers’ markets are filled with ripe, sun-kissed tomatoes. A little thought, though, and you can up your caprese game big time. I discovered a few new-to-me tricks this summer that elevate it from a humble combination to a star-worthy salad.

First off, let’s talk about the basil. I used to cut larger leaves into ribbons. This year I decided to swap in smaller ones. They have a sweeter flavor, and less peppery bite than more mature leaves. You can even use some of the flowers that bud when your plant is telling you it’s time for a trim—they make for a beautiful garnish.

While thick, juicy slices of beefsteak tomatoes are wonderful, quartered grape tomatoes, or simply chopping up those beefsteaks is a fun approach. The same goes for your mozzarella—diced it, or use smaller bocconcini, and cut them into halves or quarters. Your caprese now becomes a chopped salad, of sorts, providing a perfect ratio of tomato, cheese, and basil with every bite. A sprinkling of good quality salt, like fleur de sel or Maldon salt flakes, and little bit of our Red Wine Vinaigrette pulls it all together for an easy, yet sophisticated, salad.